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Watch this and find out what a wingsuit race is

250kph around an aerial racecourse suspended from helicopters. This is Red Bull Aces 4 Cross.

By Andrew T Crafts on 5 August 2014

It's not easy to invent a new sport – but with Red Bull Aces, that's just what race director Luke Aikins has done. “We wanted to create a truly human race through the sky!”

To get the basics of the first Red Bull Aces 4 Cross wingsuit race, start with our article here – then dig into the video above to learn more about how they developed the racecourse, and created a safe but thrilling race. “We're not all crazy to do this stuff – there are safe ways to do what we're doing,” says Aikins.

Numerous challenges had to be overcome to make the race happen – including finding the best wingsuit pilots in the world, getting them in one (ideal) location at the same time, and figuring out the actual logistics of start lines, turns, and finishes. “We're not inventing wingsuiting, we're not inventing racing,” says Aikins. “We're trying to do our own version of that!”

GPS-enabled tracking devices helped organisers score the race from afar, while highly visible 'gates' were strung in the sky beneath helicopters to give the pilots a course to follow.

So in the end, does Red Bull Aces get an A+? From participants, organisers, and spectators, definitely: “This is pushing the sport in a direction where we can have people following it, where the public can understand what we're doing,” says Aikins. “When we're done, I want to be able to say: We've got the best wingsuit pilot in the world!”

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